Stop criminalising Liverpool's Homeless: Stop the PSPO

Liverpool City Council have begun discussions regarding the implementat ion of a Public Space Protection Order, covering the city centre, which would criminalise many of the city's homeless. If this goes through then it will become illegal to beg anywhere within the city centre. It may also make it illegal to erect gazebos and tables within a public place. This will target street kitchens and unofficial outreach teams that provide support to the homeless on a weekly basis.

If a person were to breach the order, they would be liable for a fine of up to £1000. What person, homeless or not, can afford that?

Fining and persecuting people in lowest socio-economic group, people that have to beg for money and can’t afford food, is only going to worsen the problem -- not make things better.

The orders that the council are trying to introduce directly put people at risk, but our support can stop this from happening. Councils in Oxford, Hackney and Wycombe have tried to introduce similar policies and each time a petition and public pressure has stopped this from happening. Implementation of a PSPO was also terminated in Liverpool in 2015 following public outcry. With your support we can, together, stop Liverpool City Council from criminalising people in poverty and find solutions to help people rather than persecuting them further.

The PSPO is still in consultation stages (the possibility was re-introduced in a Homelessness Reduction Report published by the council in 2017) so it is imperative that we mobilise as a city to prevent this cruel and counter-productive practice.